Janet J. Smith

Why We Referee

Find out what our refs have to say about making the choice to join the Salem Football Official Association.

After yelling at referees for years when watching my kids play football I never thought I would join the team. It is one of the best things I have done. You meet amazing people and have a blast participating in the sport that we all love.

Jim Kniffin, Back Judge / Line Judge

My first two years of officiating have been amazing. I chose to officiate football because I have always wanted to work in the sports field, but was never meant to be a professional athlete or coach; and I hated the idea of working in media or sports medicine. I enjoy the camaraderie that is found with my fellow officials in SFOA. I have not found one person who is unapproachable and unwilling to bounce questions off of. I plan to continue working for SFOA, with the goal of ultimately officiating college football in the future.

Chad Hewlett, Referee

After the first couple of games I felt I had become apart of a bigger family and developed relationships with fellow officials who shared my same passion. Being an official allowed me the opportunity to learn the game from a whole new level, and develop a new found respect for football that I did not have before. As a guardian of the game I feel as though I am someone whom people can look up to and admire for being in the trenches with the athletes.

Matt Faler, Back Judge

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About Us

Salem Football Officials Association (SFOA) is the second largest football officiating association in Oregon with approximately 125 members. We are always recruiting new members and looking for more refs to join our ranks. If interested, click here for more information.